Method and apparatus for lubricating the wires of a pile wire loom



1965 c. c. BOLEY ETAL 3,221,775

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LUBRICATING THE WIRES OF A FILE WIRE LOOM FiledJune 1.0, 1964 LUBRICANT INVENTORSZ SUPPLY ,4; CHARLES C. BOLEY DAVID G.BURNELL WILLIAM M. KIRBY ATTY.

United States Patent 3,221,775 METHOD AND APPARATUS FGR'LUBFJCATING THEWIRES (BE A PILEWIRE 1.90M

Charles C. Bfoley, Franklin, N.C., and David G. Burnell and William M.Kirby, Clayton, Ga, assignors to James Lees and Sons Company,Bridgeport, Pa, a corporation of Delaware Filed June '10, 1964, Ser. No.374,196 8 Claims. (Cl. 139 -45) This invention relates to pile wirelooms and more particularly to an improved lubricating system for thepile wires of broad carpet looms.

In the weaving of pile fabrics such as rugs and carpets, it is customaryto employ a set of pile wires over which the pile warps are selectivelycarried to form either cut or uncut pile projections. Looms of this sortare used in the weaving of Wilton or velvet carpets. The width of thefabric varies from 27 inches to 15 feet and the pile wires arefrequently of non-uniform height for the purpose of creating asculptured effect in the fabric. Such pile wires are variously referredto as serrated, wavy, or profile wires. In addition, one or more knivesmay be mounted on the wires to provide complete or partial cutting ofthe pile projections as the pile wires are individually withdrawn. Itwill be understood that the force required to withdraw pile wires may bequite substantial and this is particularly so for a broad loom 12 feetor 15 feet in width which is weaving a serrated wire fabric. Withoutadequate lubrication, the wires cannot be withdrawn at all or they tearthe pile yarns to such an extent that the fabric is damaged. Heretoforesolid lubricants for the wires have been reasonably adequate and thelubricant commonly used was paraffin in the form of sticks which areinserted in one or more tubes to bear against the last pile wire in theset as it is withdrawn from the fabric.

Until recently, however, it has not been the general practice to piecedye Wilton or velvet fabrics woven with pile wires. When a fabric wovenon a transverse wire loom is piece dyed it was discovered that theresidual parafiin causes serious problems in the dye kettles. A scumforms which produces uneven dyeing and makes frequent changes of the dyebath essential. It was therefore desirable to provide an adequatelubricant for the pile wires which would not create problems whenfabrics are piece dyed. We have found that a liquid spray applied to thepile wires as they are withdrawn lubricates the wires sufficiently topermit ready and easy removal of the wires from the fabric. Furthermore,a proper choice of liquid lubricant avoids any undesirable effects inthe dye kettles. At first it was not appreciated precisely what causedthe scum in the dye kettles but after considerable experimentation thesubject matter of the present invention was evolved which not onlypermits satisfactory and efiicient weaving of broad fabrics on a Wiltonor velvet loom with serrated pile wires but also does not cause anyharmful or undesired conditions in the dye kettle.

A primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide method andapparatus for applying a non-scumming lubricant to the pile wires in aWilton or velvet fabric loom.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus forintermittently supplying liquid to a pile wire being withdrawn from afabric in a pile wire loom.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top view of a portion of a pile Wire loom(either Wilton or velvet) showing the wire table and a set of pile wiresin position in a fabric being woven,

FIGURE is a section as seen at 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 33 of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 4 is a wiring diagram of a control system for the apparatus ofFIGURE 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a conventional pilefabric loom is provided with a breast plate 5, a breast plate cover 6,and a side girt 7 which forms the bottom of the pile wire box 8. Thewire motion used on a loom of this type is well known in the art andforms no part of the present invention. The pertinent portions of thewire motion aer shown to illustrate the manner in which the invention isapplied thereto. A rope pulley 9 carries'a rope or cable 10 which isoscillated back and forth (left to right and vice versa) in FIGURE 1 bymeans of suitable driving elements and a quick return motion not shown.The ropell) is anchored in the rope holder 11 of the hopper plate 12which reciprocates back and forth on the wire table 13. The hopper guide14 is formed integrally with the hopper plate 12 and runs in a T-shapedway in hopperrail 15 as shown in FIGURE 2. The hopper plate carries awire hook or catch 20 pivoted at 21 and spring loaded by means of a wirecatch spring 22 which sequentially engages a notch on the head 4 of eachof the pile wires W in the pile wire set.

As seen in FIGURE 1 the last wire W1 is in the process of beingwithdrawn from the Wire set by the hopper which is travelling in thedirection indicated by the arrow. The wires in the wire set have beenwoven into the fabric F in accordance with conventional practice and thelast wire in the set is withdrawn completely when the hopper platereaches its fully retracted position at the outer end of the hopperrail. At this time the last wire W1 is positioned in the wire slide 23that pivots as shown in broken lines in FIGURE 1 after the wire W1 isfully withdrawn. The wire slide then directs the wire W1 to the frontportion of the wire set so that as the hopper plate 12 returns towardsthe loom the last wire is reinserted in the shed of the fabric beingwoven. The wire holder 25 maintains the wire heads in the properrelationship and is pivoted on pin 26. The wire set is retained in placeand the last Wire inserted in its proper position by means of the wirebox cap 27 adjustably mounted on girt 7 by means of cap screws 28, 28.It will be understood that the foregoing described pertinent parts ofthe loom are entirely conventional. It must be emphasized that theoperation of the wire motion is probably the limiting factor whichprohibits increasing the speed of a Wilton or velvet loom. Much efforthas been expended to improve the operation of the wire motion with theobject of increasing production and concurrently it is most important toavoid any condition which decreases the speed of the wire motion orspecifically the speed with which the individual wires can be withdrawnand reinserted in the fabric.

A spray head 30 is adjustably mounted on an arm 31 by means of a'clamp32. Arm 31 is in turn bolted to an angle bracket 33 by means of locknuts 34, 34 so that the spray head 30 can be positioned to direct a finejet of lubricant onto the pile wire W1 as it is being withdrawn from thefabric F. A spray head of this type has been found to be important toavoid excess application of liquid and superior to the use of a spongeor felt wiper which is less positive and subject to wear. The liquidlubricant is supplied to the spray head 30 through the flexible line 35and the other line 36 is used for the necessary air to direct andatomize the spray. In some installations it has been found that theability to apply a thin spray continuously does not produce an excessiveamount of liquid in the area of the wire table and thereforeintermittent operation is not indicated. This feature was therefore anunexpected development in view of the fact that satisfactory operationcan be achieved with a consumption of less than 1 quart of lubricant ina 24 hour operating period when weaving a nylon pile fabric.

In some looms it has been found desirable to employ a retaining elementfor the wires to insure that they do not jump out of place when beingwithdrawn. For this purpose a friction block 37 (FIGURES 1 and 3) ispositioned to contact the last few wires W in the wire set. The block ispreferably notched as shown in FIGURE 3 and supported by means of abracket 38 secured at one end to breast plate cover 6 and to the block37 by means of screws 39, 39.

Where, however, intermittent operation is found to be desirable, weprovide a timing mechanism for opening a valve only during the portionof the cycle that the last Wire W1 is being withdrawn from the fabric.

Referring to FIGURE 4, the main air supply line 40 carries air underapproximately 30 p.s.i. to a reducing valve 41 which delivers air toconduit 42 at approximately 15 psi. The liquid lubricant is fed from areservoir 43 by means of the pressure from line 42 which is bypassed toforce liquid into line 44. Line 45 carries air at the 15 psi. pressureto a solenoid operated valve 46 which is in turn connected to lines 35and 36. A cam 48 may be independently driven to make one revolution percycle of the hopper plate or it may be connected to any suitable movingmechanism on the loom for this purpose. A lobe 49 on cam 48 actuates anormally closed switch 50 and a normally open switch 51 connected to arelay 52. As the cam 48 turns in a clockwise direction, lobe 49 closesswitch 51, which energizes the armature 53 of relay 52 through leads 54and 55. This closes contact sets 56 and 57 to complete a circuit tosolenoid valve 46 through leads 55, 58, contacts 57, lead 59 and lead60. A holding circuit maintains the contacts 57 closed through normallyclosed switch 59 and leads 61 and 62 until the lobe 49 of cam 43 strikesswitch 56 thus breaking the holding circuit to relay armature 53 to opencontacts 56 and 57 which in turn de-energizes solenoid valve 46 to stopthe spray after the last wire W1 has been completely withdrawn.

It will be understood that the lubricant used in the present inventiondepends to some extent on the width of the loom, whether or not serratedor plain wires are used, and the particular fiber or fiber blend beingwoven as pile in the fabric. We have found that a liquid polyalkyleneglycol sold under the trade name of Ucon-50-HB-26O by Union Carbide andChemical Corporation gives satisfactory results both from the standpointof lubrication of the pile wires and absence of scumming in the dyekettle. Since it is soluble in the dye bath it is readily removed in thedye cycle and therefore eliminates a 45-minute pre-scour cycle which wasformerly needed to remove the wax or parafiin residue from the fabric.As noted above the proper selection of liquid lubricant will beinfluenced by several factors including the fiber present in the pileyarn. A liquid which is soluble in the dye bath and is not extremelyvolatile in general meets the requirements.

It will thus be understood that we have provided an improved system forlubricating pile wires in a pile fabric loom which reduces pile wirebreakage, provides improved lubrication for the pile wires thus reducingdamage to the fabric, and at same time eliminates all undesired effectsof the lubricant in subsequent fabric dyeing operations.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a transverse pile wire loom having a breast beam over which wovenpile fabric is drawn, a set of pile wires for forming warp pile fromyarns, means for inserting one of said pile wires into the shed of afabric being woven, means for withdrawing one of said pile wires from awidth of woven pile fabric, the improvement which comprises a nozzlesupported on the loom, an adjustable bracket for holding said nozzle ina position to direct liquid lubricant against a pile wire beingwithdrawn from the fabric at a point beyond the selvedge thereof, andmeans for supplying liquid lubricant to said nozzle.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 having means for retaining said pile wirebeing withdrawn in a substantially horizontal non-elevated position.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the retaining means isa nylon block mounted on the loom.

4. In a transverse pile wire loom having a breast beam over which wovenpile fabric is drawn, a set of pile wires for forming warp pile fromyarns, means for inserting one of said pile wires into the shed of afabric being woven, means for withdrawing one of said pile wires from awidth of woven pile fabric, the improvement which comprises a liquidsupply, a nozzle mounted on the loom positioned to direct liquidlubricant onto at least one of said set of pile wires, and conduit meansbetween the nozzle and the liquid supply.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 having means for retaining said pile wirebeing withdrawn in a substantially horizontal non-elevated position.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which the retaining means isa nylon block mounted on the loom.

7. In a transverse pile wire loom having a breast beam over which wovenpile fabric is drawn, a set of pile Wires for forming warp pile fromyarns, means for inserting one of said pile wires into the shed of afabric being woven, means for withdrawing one of said pile wires from awidth of woven pile fabric, the improvement which comprises a nozzleadjustably mounted on the loom positioned to direct liquid spray onto atleast one of said pile wires, a liquid supply, conduit means connectingthe nozzle and the liquid supply, and cyclically operated valve means insaid conduit means to interrupt the liquid spray in accordance with theposition of one of said pile wires.

8. The method of weaving a pile fabric which cornprises inserting one ofa set of pile wires into a shed, withdrawing the last pile wire of saidset sequentially lubricant upon one of said pile wires at a point spacedfrom the selvedge of the fabric being woven.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 849,783 4/1907Giles 139-45 DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner,

8. THE METHOD OF WEAVING A PILE FABRIC WHICH COMPRISES INSERTING ONE OFA SET OF PILE WIRES INTO A SHED, WITHDRAWING THE LAST PILE WIRE OF SAIDSET SEQUENTIALLY AFTER INSERTION OF SAID FIRST PILE WIRE, AND SPRAYING ALIQUID LUBRICANT UPON ONE OF SAID PILE WIRES AT A POINT SPACED FROM THESELVEDGE OF THE FABRIC BEING WOVEN.